The Museum of Names evolved out of a simple observation: everyone has a name, yet most of us seldom pause to consider just how much that name holds.

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In a moment when the world is hungry for connection, names offer a surprisingly powerful bridge. The Museum began as a place to gather and share everything names carry — insights and scholarship, curiosity and culture, memory and meaning. A space where people could explore names not just as words, but as touchstones of identity and belonging.

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Our mission is rooted in the knowledge that names are not trivial things. They are the building blocks of connection, vessels of heritage, and one of the most universal — and overlooked — tools for human understanding. By highlighting the depth and diversity of names and name stories, the Museum aims to spread love, spark conversation, and help build a more cohesive planet, one name at a time.

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Like most enduring ideas, this one began with a timeless question: “What’s in a name?” And unlike Shakespeare’s unfortunate Juliet, we’ve found the answer is—everything. History, identity, emotion, culture. Legitimacy. Longing. Self-conception. Joy. The people we come from, the people we’re becoming, and the people we're not.

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Our founder and Chief Namiac, Kaomi Taylor, calls this the everyday magic of names. This incredible tool of belonging and meaning accompanies every one of us, every day. How lucky is that?

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The Museum of Names is for every self-identified Namiac—the name nerds, the culture lovers, the deep thinkers and onomophiles who know that even a single moment of name-centered attention can spark something powerful. It’s for anyone who’s ever wondered where their name came from — or where it might take them. It's for the curious, the sentimental, the scholarly, and the seekers. And really, it's for anyone with a name.

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We’re so glad you’re here. Welcome to the Museum of Names.

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"Names are more than what we’re called—

they’re how we call each other in."

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- Kaomi Joy Taylor, founder, Museum of Names